Like a Phoenix I Will Rise
by deejaymcknight
Summary: A bit of a different take on Earthborn Shepard's enlisting with the Alliance. This idea's been bouncing around for quite a while now, I figured I'd get it out of the way so I could work on other stuff. Enjoy [possible multi chap]


'It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye' held so very little meaning to Jane Shepard. 'It's all fun and games until some idiot with a crowbar trips the silent alarm and alerts the building security' on the other had...well that had to be her new favorite. She was usually quick, at least quick enough to get out before the rent-a-cops surrounded her; but she also usually worked alone. This place had been big, the haul would've been too much for the untrained biotic to handle on her own but when she showed up at the Red's hideout to find it empty spare their newest member, she was left to settle. Of course, looking back on the situation as she was pressed into the ground by a knee to her back and collateral damage scattered around the floor they'd gotten up to, she realized that maybe she should've just waited till tomorrow. Problem was? Jane Shepard didn't know the meaning of 'wait'.

Her name must've popped up on someone's computer because six hours later and she was _still _in the cell holding her. The last time she'd been caught she had used an alias, the times before that as well. She had been a minor with those though and one could do wonders with a phony address. A cop had a hell of a hard time finding a kid who skipped bail when the address written for them was a group home that had been dormant for three years. She was an adult now in their eyes though, eighteen that previous Saturday (a night which resulted in running from most of these police officers in the precinct as well as a tattoo she still hasn't caught a full glimpse of. Either way, they had probably drawn parallels to the minors who looked remarkably like her in their databases. There weren't too many people running around with almost scarlet hair and piercing green eyes. Curse her astounding mysterious genetics.

"Shepard." A voice of finality bellowed from the other side of the bars that caused the girl to jump. Pushing some errant hair from her face she raised a brow and her chin, studying him with inquisitive eyes.

"The one and only." Her hands raised with a shrug and a smirk, standing from the uncomfortable cot supplied in the cell. "You my public defender?" She asked, leaning against the bars a bit away from the man. He sure as hell didn't look like one, she didn't recognize the emblem on the I.D he'd been asked to wear but she decided it was probably her best guess right now. "Sal! Got a smoke I can bum? I'll pay you back next time." The guard leaning against the wall rolled his eyes and nodded, handing one over and lighting it for her. Sal had been a Red when Jane first was initiated. He left on good terms, his girlfriend had gotten pregnant and he needed something that would provide stability; the police force somehow seemed to be the answer for that.

As she let out the long stream of smoke from her first pull the man who had addressed her cleared his throat and composed himself. "I'm Sergeant Mason, and no. I'm not your public defender. I'd like to talk to you so Officer Gonzalez is going to escort you to the conference room."

She watched Sal unlock the cell and lead her out, getting waved off for handcuffs. Jane could do damage, as it had been plain to see back at the building she'd broken into but that was thanks to her biotics. Though they were still lacking the concentration, they weren't lacking the power. This building however, it was dampened. She wouldn't be able to pull a chair much less hurt anyone while under the precinct roof, not that she would anyway, she'd been made and now this Mason guy was offering her something. She'd be complacent for now.

As they stepped into the conference room Jane's brow rose. The table was filled with files beside one of the chairs and with another quick glance she noticed her multiple mugshots littered around them as well. This man had been doing his homework on her...for what reason? She had no idea but she sat down in the seat offered to her and watched him take the seat behind the files.

"I've been reading up on you." He began, gesturing towards the files.

"Yeah, I got that much. Gonna tell me why? I'm not too fond of twenty questions." She sat back now, thanking whatever else was out there that this seat was more comfortable than that stupid ass cot. Spinning one of the pointless files her way she glanced over the report and chuckled at the accompanying mugshot. Bar brawl, one she'd incited. Ended her up with a black eye, split lip and three fractured knuckles. The only thing she'd said at that hearing was '_Should've seen the other guy._' and clearly had been the only one in the court room who had found it funny.

The file the Sergeant had been glancing over closed and he nodded, folding his hands neatly in front of him before focusing his gaze on her. "You show great biotic potential. Each arrest you've wracked up using all of these names include some kind of incident regarding your powers. The Alliance needs strong biotics for their newest project and are willing to get your record completely expunged in return for your cooperation."

The redhead blinked a few times and once more raised a brow. She'd heard that term before, Alliance, everyone knew who they were. That wasn't what perplexed her though, it was the fact that they wanted anything to do with her. "Why is the military looking at a street rat?" She asked, though she was sure she had meant for that to be an inside thought, something she needed to work on. Shaking her head a few times she leaned forward and gazed at the man once more. "I mean, why do they want me? Get one of the kids who go to the specialty schools. They're trained for this shit already. Their parents send 'em to those places for a reason."

This must've been amusing to the other man, who cracked a smile at this comment, shaking his head a bit. "We don't want trained. We don't want polished. We want unstable and dangerous. With the new implants created, your powers can be harnessed in ways that those students could only dream about. We're offering you an out, Jane. I suggest you take it." He paused for a moment before continuing. "You're facing charges as an adult here and they won't take them lightly."

She figured that much, which is what left the usually wordy teenager quiet. Instead she nursed her cigarette down to the filter and flicked it into the ashtray, eyes fixed on the files in front of her still. She was cornered and this time there was no getting out of this, especially since the idiot she'd brought along with her had called out not only "Shepard" but "Jane" when she wouldn't answer in the holding cells. They knew her name, and it wasn't a mystery where her affiliations lay once they had the name.

"You'd be protecting your friends as well. The Red's? They've had their eyes on them for a while now. This slip-up could tie them to quite a few things. Your name is high on the list of people to bring down within the gang." It was as though the man had read her mind and it made her heart race just a bit. She knew she'd have to take the fall for this, but the problem was which fall would she be taking? She could take the jailtime, come out and hope that the Red's would still be around when she did or she could agree to join the program this guy was offering and make all of it go away. Double edged sword at it's finest.

Her hands ran through cropped hair, eyes closing for a moment as she let out a sigh. "When would I ship out?" She asked after a brief bout of silence. She knew that the Alliance wasn't based on Earth. She knew she'd be on a shuttle out of atmo and from there she'd be millions of lightyears away from home. Though, as Jane thought about it, she realized she didn't have a 'home' persay. Yeah, she shared a rundown apartment with a few of the kids in the gang but it wasn't a home. Hell half the time they didn't even have electricity. Sergeant Mason began to explain everything, telling her that they could leave as soon as within the hour if she wanted to and her next stop would be 'Jump Zero'. Once they had her correctly enlisted she would be shipped off to Jon Grissom Academy, a place that had been established a few years prior for biotic training. It all sounded quick, rushed and severely lacking in any sort of waiting...which was music to the redhead's ears.

As Mason finished speaking Jane simply nodded, sitting up with a pointed finger at alert a second later. "Don't think this means I'm chopping my hair off, dude." Again, the man cracked a smile and excused himself to get her signed out of this place and on with their journey.

Little was Shepard aware of how much this day changed her life. From time to time she thought back to it, gazing out of a window at the dark expanse of space or when she was glowing blue and charging some poor unfortunate soul with all buck twenty of her bodyweight. She couldn't imagine where her life would be if she hadn't accepted the offer, but she knew that she wouldn't be the same person that she was today without it.


End file.
